THE NEW YORKER on the bottom, with a line of fagoting in a Greek-key motif as the demarca- tion, at the midriff. Heelan also bought a sheer georgette turtleneck, which, she said, could be covered with the cross-draped accordion-pleated halter. Weinstein opted for matching cami- soles, which were included in the line but hadn't been shown on the runway. For the customer who doesn't want a camisole, she will suggest that the front of the blouse be double- or triple-lined in more chiffon-a proj- ect for Ultimo's alterations department. Weinstein also bought, from the acces- sories line, a sheaf of scarves in match- ing chiffon, for women to drape strate- gically across their chests. The Finks bought a few of the sheer turtlenecks, but mostly they put their money on the chiffon shirt with patch pockets cover- ing the breasts. Each team leaves home with a set amount of money to spend-an amount based on past sales, sales in the current season so far, and an accountant's pro- jections for the season ahead. What happens, then, if the collection exceeds expectations? "There's always money for fabu- lous," Heelan says. Weinstein can stretch her budget if she needs to. "If we find something at the end of our trip and all our money is gone, I go ahead and buy it," she says. "I always think I can sell more than the accountant tells us." Herbert Fink's store is predicated on the notion that every Montana collec- tion will be a good collection; faced with a particularly good one, like this season's, he might increase his volume, but only slightly. In a season when the designer's col- lection isn't quite up to par, the retail- ers make do in different ways. Heelan buys for other designer boutiques within Bloomingdale's-Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Perry Ellis-and also for the Paradox (Jean-Paul Gaultier, Franco Moschino, Isaac Mizrahi) and imports (Myrène de Prémonville, Pat- rick Kelly) departments; the amount of money allocated for each of these is an estimate, and the buyer can invest a lit- tle more in one designer, a little less in another, depending on the quality of that season's collections. "Noone's perfect every season, though some are a little more consistent than others," she says. "Basically, we don't cut anybody back. It's important to have continuity with the manufacturer. In a bad sea- son, I try to narrow into what's best and buy more of that." The amount that Weinstein spends on a single designer varies from season to season. "There are designers who have minimums, and you have to buy a certain amount," she says. "But, be- yond that, if we love it we can buy more and if we don't we can buy less." "I feel I have an obligation, which is one of the problems of owning a de- signer boutique," Fink says. "If some- body makes a bad bowl of soup, I'm stuck with it. But I try to be smart enough and knowledgeable enough to find where to lean within the collec- tion. If they've given you a certain amount of exclusivity, you have to be loyal, through good collections and bad collections. If you find something that really is terrific in the line, you buy a lot of it and make your money off of that, so that it supports something else. " When it comes to the fashion press, Ruttenstein, perhaps because he's in New York, pays a little more attention to the daily critics than Weinstein, who may read them out of curiosity, or Fink, who mostly ignores them. All three acknowledge that what fashion magazines, by their very nature, are looking for is something entirely dif- ferent from what buyers are looking for; the little absurdities, the high drama, the inside jokes that make for good entertainment on the runway or in fashion photographs are lost on the customer in the store. As his daughter is ordering a linen tunic, Fink waves off Lucie Shlafer's advice that "the press is going to be doing mocha on this." This tunic in mocha, he says, is something that only someone who isn't a retailer could love. -HOLLY BRUBACH . BLOCK THAT METAPHOR! [Carrie Rickey in F arne] When Eastwood premiered Bird at Cannes last May, the largely jaded com- munity there was struck by his reluctant presence in the firmament of celebrity me- teors and would-be supernovas. Meteors, as every stargazer knows. have velocity and dazzle. Their glittery, white-hot tango can temporarily eclipse those endur- ing, slow burners like the red giants which sometimes look deceptively dim. Red giants aren't twinklers, so stargaz- ers-notable at Cannes as astrologers as well as astronomers-overlook the fact that their low surface temperature permits them to glow one hundred times brighter than the sun. Here's a man who could glow in the dark. 117 ik th Â I-s. '- I ., ( \ ) Fred Jacobson well known author/mountaineer, will once again lead special hiking trips to Appenzell, Kandersteg, Murren, Pontre- sina, Saas-Fee, Sils Maria and Zermatt. Spectacular Swiss alpine scenery. Chal- lenging trails. Delightful inns and fine cuisine. For active outdoor people who also like their creature com- forts. OUT 17th summer! For information write: Fred Jacobson, Dept. A Chappaqua Travel 1 South Greeley Ave., .... Chappaqua, New York 10514 800-666-5161/914-238-5151 f"- . f ....." TOGETHER AT LAST: COMFORT & STYLE .. H .!;-.( ....' >> -:;. 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